You can burn them out, crank up the furnace and maintain 120F+ for and hour or so. Or freeze them out, turn on the AC to below 32F for several days. I would go with burning them out, since I don't think I would want to live in a below freezing house for days either.
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Tester101♦Apr 1 '11 at 11:55

5 Answers
5

Sounds like bed bugs to me. Have you, or anyone else, noticed bite marks? Sleep with a flashlight near the bed and if you wake up at night, use that to look for them (too much light will scare them away).

My suggestion is to strip the bed of all linens and wash them (you need heat to kill them, hot water and/or hot air from the dryer). Remove and check the mattress and box springs and then check the entire bed frame. Eliminate any paths from the bed frame to the wall or floor (placing the feet of the bed in a bowl of water or some other boundary). Put the mattress and box springs in a zippered cover. And finally, use a bed bug spray to kill any that make it through all this. Note that these things can last a long time, so don't let down your guard for at least a year since you saw the last sign of them.

What you have described is bed bugs, however a pic would confirm this. They are small ovals with brown or reddish rust color. Bed bugs travel vast distances to get to you at night. They are nocturnal hunters that use your CO2 to hone in. While the answers I have read so far are a good way to start the process... know this.

Just cleaning your bed or even your room is not enough. They can fit into extremely tight spaces like anchovies in a can. A neighboring college had a recent infestation, and bug bombing the entire dorm system wasn't enough. They had to call in a specialist to deal with it. He was later on the local news telling people this, "They hide in the same place they were born and never relocate, in this way they are hard to detect, as you can miss their hiding spot for weeks and they will return after every attempt to eradicate them." His advice was to look in the less obvious spots, start with the bed frame, mattress, and the entire room top to bottom. But also check anything you brought into your home recently, plants, pottery, books, stereos, anything. I have a neighbor who bombed their home four or five times in 6 months, but eventual found the last remnants of the infestation in a old pill bottle under the cabinet in the guest bathroom, 20m from their bed room door!

Definitely sounds like bedbugs. You may just be finding a few random dead ones, or maybe you are just at the beginning of an infestation and they do not exist in large numbers.

The only thing that really kills them is heat and steam cleaning can be effective. They hide during the day which is why you probably do not see very many actually in the bed. If you are not noticing the bites it probably just means you are not allergic to the bites. If they are in your bed and you are the only one sleeping there, you are definitely getting bit.

There are many resources on the web that talk about dealing with bed bugs. Or you can call a local exterminator who knows how to deal with them.

After you have cleaned up everything,try the following, take four empty tins,fill water upto half level and place four legs of the cot in each of these tins.this will ensure that bugs will not swim across,

Treatment Procedures. Infested and
infestation-prone bedding and garments
will need to be bagged and laundered
(120°F minimum) since these items
cannot be treated with insecticides.
Another effective and efficient option
is to place clothing, toys, shoes,
backpacks, etc., in a clothes dryer
set at medium to high heat for 10 to
20 minutes. This will kill all bed bug
life stages and can be done alone or
in conjunction with laundering.
According to textile experts at the
Drycleaning & Laundry Institute
(Laurel, MD), most garments designated
as ‘dry-clean only’ (e.g., cotton,
wool, silk, linen, rayon, nylon, poly
blends) will not be harmed provided
they are dry before being placed in a
clothes dryer at moderate (less than
160?F) settings. While dry cleaning
procedures also kill bed bugs, there
is risk of infesting the establishment
when buggy items are de-bagged, tagged
and sorted.

Items which cannot be put in a washer
or dryer can sometimes be de-infested
by wrapping in plastic and placing
them outdoors in a hot, sunny
location, closed vehicle, etc. for at
least a day. If this method is
attempted, packing fewer items per bag
makes it harder for the bugs to find
cooler places to hide. Monitoring with
a thermometer is prudent, with a
target internal temperature of at
least 120°F. Bed bugs also will
succumb to cold temperatures below
32°F, but the freezing temperatures
must be maintained for several days.
Consequently, throughout much of the
country, heating tends to be a faster,
more reliable option than chilling.
Attempts to rid an entire dwelling of
bed bugs by raising or lowering the
thermostat will be unsuccessful,
although some companies are having
success using supplemental heaters.

General housecleaning measures, such
as vacuuming floors and surfaces,
seldom reaches the places where bed
bugs hide. Targeted vacuuming of
infested harborages, however, can help
remove some of the bugs before
treatment with insecticides. Bed bugs
and especially the eggs can be
difficult to dislodge. Optimum results
will be achieved by moving and
scraping the end of the suction wand
along infested areas such as seams and
fabric folds of beds and sofas, and
the perimeter edge of wall-to-wall
carpets. Afterward, dispose of the
vacuum contents in a sealed trash bag.
Some pest control firms also employ
commercial steamers or rapid freezing
equipment to treat areas where bed
bugs are found or suspected. Used
correctly, they kill both bugs and
eggs on contact. Neither method,
however, affords residual protection
against bed bugs which may have been
missed. At times it may be necessary
to throw out infested items,
especially beds and upholstered
furniture. Knowledgeable pest control
firms are able to advise clients on
what can stay and what should go. When
infested items are discarded, bagging
or wrapping them prevents dislodgement
of bugs en route to the Dumpster®.

While the aforementioned measures are
helpful, insecticides are important
for bed bug elimination. Professionals
treat using a variety of low-odor
sprays, dusts and aerosols. Baits
designed to control ants and
cockroaches are ineffective.
Application entails treating all areas
where the bugs are discovered or tend
to crawl or hide. This may take hours
of effort and follow-up visits are
usually required. Some bed bug
species are parasites of bats or
birds, and may bite people if the wild
hosts are no longer available. If bat
bugs or bird bugs are involved,
roosting and nesting sites should be
the primary focus of treatment and the
animals excluded from the building.